Decision 45 COM 7B.151

Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura (Cambodia) (C 1532)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 8B.15, 43 COM 7B.56 and 44 COM 7B.140 adopted at its 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 43rd (Baku, 2019) sessions and its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021) respectively,
3. Notes with satisfaction the State Party’s report concerning conservation, research and restoration of attributes in the temple zone, based on the risk mapping for the property, and the completion of the Conservation Manual for Sambor Prei Kuk;
4. Welcomes the resumption of the State Party’s training and education programmes, which include awareness-raising programmes for the local community, training for archaeology and conservation students, support for scientific researchers, staff exchanges, and on-the-job training for the local community;
5. Notes the continuing, high-quality scientific work carried out to document the attributes of the property and its buffer zone, contributing to the longer-term possibility of deepening the interpretation of the site and extending the property boundary;
6. Commends the State Party for the progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous recommendations concerning the completion and implementation of the management system, and requests the State Party to continue its progress by:
   1. Continuing to assess the carrying capacity of each of the temple zones, based on the collection of visitor data and the observation of changes to visitor routes and day-long fluctuation of visitor behaviour within the property, with a view to potentially revisiting the Tourism Management Plan,
   2. Continuing to ensure the effectiveness of the monitoring system through regular reporting on the conservation and restoration works, risk data, settlement patterns, ancient hydraulic structures, visitor satisfaction, community involvement, and broader environmental indicators,
   3. Considering the long-term possibility of extending the property’s boundaries, once the inscribed area and buffer zone have been thoroughly documented and assessed,
   4. Continuing to enrich the interpretation of the property through museum displays and educational activities,
   5. Continuing to develop and implement capacity-building programmes for a variety of audiences;
7. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.